Bottom leaf retaining means for canopy doors



Nov. 18, 1941. E. D. THOMSON ,9

BOTTOM LEAF RETAINING MEANS FOR CANOPY DOORS I Filed Jan. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Elias $.7h0mson,

Nov. 18, 1941. E. D. THOMSON 2,262,976

BOTTOM LEAF RETAINING MEANS FOR QANOPY DOORS Filed Jam, 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wue/wto o 4/ D.Thomon,

Patented Nov. 1 8, 1941 I BOTTOM'LEAF ammo mums roa CANOPY nooas Elias D. Thomson, Union Township, Lawrence County, Pa., assignor to Truscon Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Michigan Application January 12, 1940, Serial No. 313,643

6 Claims.

This invention relates to doors, and has particular reference to improvements in so-calied canopy doors; that is to say, doors of the type which, when open, extend horizontally, or substantially horizontally, forwardly, canopy-like, from a doorway at or near the top thereof.

Such doors commonly are used for controlling large doorways, such as the doorways of aircraft hangers, warehouses and the like, and usually they are. quite high, wide and heavy, often being composedof two or more independent sections disposed in side to side rela lonship.

It is known to form such doors, or door sections, of upper and lower leaves, the lower leaf of which is mounted on the upper leaf to slide vertically relative thereto between raised and lowered positions to open and close the lower part of the doorway when the upper leaf is disposed vertically closing the upper part of the doorway, and the upper leaf of which is pivoted for swinging movement between a vertically disposed closed position and a substantially horizontally disposed open position in which it extends forwardly from the doorway at or near the top thereof and carries with. it the lower leaf which is disposed therebeneath in raised or open position with respect thereto. Thereby, the space in front of the door, for a considerable height and immediately adjacent to the. door,

may advantageously be utilized for any desired purpose without interfering ,with operation of the door to open and close either the lower part of the doorway or the entire doorway.

Being, usually, of considerable area, it isimportant to brace such doors against inward or outward swinging movement due to wind pressure thereagainst or to other causes, especially when the door leaves are disposed vertically, and means for this purpose also are known, one such means comprising a lever arm extending upwardly from the upper leaf above the pivot thereof and a pair of cooperating'upper and lower, pivotally connected together brace arms, the uppet of which is pivotally connected at its upper end to said lever arm, the lower of which is pivotally connected at its lower end to a fixed support located above or at least not appreciably below the level of the top of the door, and which extend in alinement with each other diagonally downwardly and inwardly from said brace'arm tosaid fixed support when the door leavesare disposed vertically. Thereby the door leaves, when vertically disposed, are held effectively against swinging movement and, at the same time, the bracing means does not interfere with utilization of the space behind and adjacent to the door for storage or any other desired purpose.

. In-connection with such' bracing means it also is known to provide the upper brace arm with cam means and the lower door leaf with roller or other suitable means for cooperation with said cam means .during the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to swing the brace arms upwardly about their pivotal connections with the lever arm and the-fixed support, respectively, thereby to dis-' aline said brace arms to permit the two door leaves to be swung as a unit toward open position, and to initiate such swinging movement.

In addition, it is known to provide, in connection with doors of the type mentioned, means to positively hold the lower door leaf against sliding downwardly relative to the upper' door leaf during .opening and closing swingingmovements of the leaves, and this is a very important provision against serious accidents. However, such means, as heretofore provided, have been separate and distinct from the bracing means and the brace arm disalining means, and its provision in many instances has involved complications and considerable expense. Accordingly, the object .of the present invention is to provide, in association with a door of the type mentioned, braced in the manner mentioned, cam means on the upper brace arm and roller or equivalent means on the lower door leaf which serve not only to disaline the brace arms and to initiate opening swinging movement of the-door leaves in response to the final portion of raising movement of the lower door leaf, but which thereafter'c'ooperate with each other to'positively prevent accidental downward sliding movement of the lower door leaf relative to the upper door leaf during opening and closing swinging movements of the leaves, Thereby, the disadvantages of, prior means for the same purpose are practically eliminated. With the foregoing and other objects inview, which will become more'fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and delined in theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding parts in related views:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, transverse section through Q trol and operating means.

of panel form.

ance with one practical embodiment of the invention to hold the lower door leaf against sliding downwardly relative to the upper door leaf during swinging movement of the door leaves between closed and openpositions.

Fig. 2 is a section onthe' line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section similar to' Fig, 2 of the upper part of the door structure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 1 of the upper part of the door structure showing, by dash and dot lines, a vertical disposition of the .door leaves, by full lines the door partly swung to open position and, by dottedlines, the door swung to fully open, canopy-like position; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the door and its conposed vertically said brace arms l8 and 26 extend in alinement, or substantially in alinement, with each other, diagonally downwardly and inwardly from the lever arm IE to the fixed support l6 and together constitute a brace which acts both in compression and tension to positively hold the door against any swinging movement.

Any suitable means may be provided to insure an alined, or substantially alined, disposition of the brace arms l8 and 20 relative to each other 'when the door leaves are disposed vertically. For

Referring to the drawings in detail, A designates a part of a building structure having a doorway a, and B designates, generally, a canopy door controlling said doorway.

example, and as illustrated in the present instance, the lower end portion of the upper brace arm I 8 may extend a short distance below the pivot 2| so as to overlap the upper end portion of the lower brace am when said arms-are alined, or are. substantially alined, and the said lower end portion of the arm l8 may be provided with a suitable stop 22 to engage a top portion The door B comprises upper and lower leaves designated as l0 and II, respectively, which, within the purview of the invention, may be of any suitable or desired specific construction. They accordingly have not been illustrated in detail, but have been indicated conventionally as The upper leaf i0 is pivotally mounted in any suitable manner, as indicated at 12, at or near its top, to the building structure A, for swinging movement between a vertically. disposed, closed position and a substantially horizontally disposed,

open position, in which it extends, canopy-like, forwardly from the building structure at or near the top of the doorway d. On the other hand, the lower leaf II is mounted in any suitable manner on the upper leaf IQ for vertical sliding movement between raised and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto. For example, the upper leaf may be suitably provided with rollers I: to ride in suitable vertically extendingtrackways of the lower leaf, and the lower leai may be suitably provided with rollers I to ride in suitable vertically extending trackways of the upper leaf. In any event, the upper leaf i0 is of a height to control approximately the upper half of the doorway a, the lower leaf II is disposed inwardly relative to the upper leaf Ill and is of a height to control the lower portion of the doorway'a, and the means slidably mounting the lower leaf upon the upper leaf is of a'suitabie form such that it holds the lower leaf at all times in a plane parallel to the plane of the upper leaf. Thus, the lower leaf can move only vertically relative to the upper leaf and whenever the upper leaf is swung the lower leaf is swung therewith.

Extending upwardly from the upper leaf H) a suitable distance above the pivot l 2 of said leaf is a lever arm I! which may be comprised, for ex-. ample, by the upper portion of an I-beam constituting part of the upper leaf structure, while located at a point which is suitably spaced downwardly and inwardly from the top of said lever arm when the upper leaf and said lever arm are disposed vertically, is a suitable fixed support l6. Pivotally connected at or near its upper end, as indicated at H, to the lever arm l5 at or near a the upper end of the latter, is an upper brace arm it, while pivotally connected at or near its lower end, as indicated at l9, .to the flxed'support I6, is a lower brace arm 20. At or near their lower and upper ends, respectively, these brace arms I8 and 20 are pivotally connected together as indicated at 2|, and when the door leaves are disabout their pivots i1 and I9, respectively, to

alined or substantially alined positions when the door is swung from open to vertical position. The

' stop 22 thus serves to prevent the arms I8, 20 from swinging beyond, or appreciably beyond,

alined positions tical position. v

The arms l8 and 2.0 may comprise single members, but preferably each of said arms is comprised by a pair of members of channel section or other suitable form secured together in parallel, spaced apart relationship as illustrated in the present instance, the members comprising the upper arm being disposed to-opposite sides of the lever arm l5 and being more widely spaced apart than the members comprising the lower arm 20 and accommodating the members comprising the latter arm therebetween. At their upper ends the arms i8 may be pivotally connected to the lever arm l5 through the 'instrumentality of a pivot pin extending through a block 23 suitably fastened to said lever arm. On the other hand, the fixed support 16 may comprise a pair. of upright when the door is swung to verangle-iron members or one or more members of I any other suitable form constituting, .for example, part of a drum supporting frame 24 carried by a pair of channel members 25 disposed horizontally, inwardly with respect to the door at about the level of the top of the doorway a and constituting part of the building structure, and the which, at their adjacent or inner sides, are suit-- ably provided with cam channels 21 for cooperation with rollers 28 carried, by the lowerdoor leaf, said rollers, or suitable equivalents'thereof, being carried, for example, at or near the top of suitable arm means 28 constituting part of the lowerdoor leaf structure.

vations such'that their lower' ends will be en- 7 tered by said rollers 28 when the lower door leaf l I is raised nearly to its fully open position relative to the upper door leaf, but before said lower door leaf has reached its fully raised or open position. It follows, therefore, that when the upper door leaf is disposed vertically closing the upper part of the doorway a, and is braced in that position by the arms l8 and 20, the lower door leaf may be nearly fully raised and lowered to open and close the lower part of the doorway a without disturbing the closed, braced status of theupper door leaf, and that, since the lower door leaf cannot swing relative to the upper door leaf, both leaves are effectively braced during substantially full opening and closing movements of the lower leaf. When, however, the lower leaf is farther raised after its rollers 28 have entered the lower end portions of the cam channels 21, said rollers, due to the downward and inclination of said portions ofsaid channels, cooperate with said channels to swing the brace arm |8 upwardly about its pivot This results in the pivot 2| being swung upwardly with consequent upward swinging of the lower brace arm about its pivot IS, with the result that, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the pivot 2| becomes dis- ,posed above a straight line drawn through the pivots l1 and 19, and the arms I8 and 28 become disalined and extend in upwardly converging re-' ried by the lowerdoorleaf H is another sheave 39.

A cable I is the sheave 38, then downwardly "beneath-the sheave 39 and then upwardly to the drum 3'! to which it is fixed at its other end.

; When the door :leaves are disposedvertlcally,

the cables 33 are unwound from the drum 3| and J the cable is wound onto the drum 32, extending I fromthe smaller end thereof.

More force is required to be exerted through the cable 40 upon the drum32 to effect rotation thereof and of the drum 3| to wind the cables ,533 onto the latter drum and thereby effect swingfing, movement of the door leaves by exerting a downwardand inward pull on the lever arm l5,

than is required to be exerted by said cable 40 through the sheave 39 onthe lower door, leaf to lift said lower door leaf. Consequently, when the door leaves are disposed; verticallyland, the

lower door leaf is lowered, rotation of .th' shaft 36 in a direetifon to eifect'windin cable onto the'drum 31 results in" g of the lower door leaf .until the rollers 28 enter' the lower ends of the cam channels 21, withoutdisturbing the vertical position of the upperdoor leaf, especially since the upper door leaf is braced against swinging movement by thefarmsjfi and 28. Accordingly, the 'lower'door leaf 'may be raised and lowered'between its lowermost position and a nearly-fully raised position toopen and close the lowerpart of the doorway'without disturbing the vertical, braced position of the upper door leaf. When, however, the rollers 28 enter the lower ends of the channels 21, further upward 1 movement of the lower leaf .is resisted due to the fact any continued upward movement of said leaf must of necessity result in swinging movement of the brace arms l8 and 20 in the manner heretofore described and also in initial opening for effecting upward movement and controlling downward movement of the lower leaf relative to the upward leaf l0 and for effecting swinging movement of said leaves as, a unit to canopylike open position and for controlling their return to vertical position. In this connection and ;as illustrated in the present instance, a shaft 30,

' cable drums 3| and 32, the former of which is cylindrical and the latter of which is conical or of other suitable form larger atone end than at the other.

A pair of cables 33 are fixed at corresponding ends to the drum 3|, at opposite ends of said drum, respectively, and extend from said drum upwardly and outwardly over sheaves 34 carried by the lever arm l5 at or'near' the top thereof and then extend downwardly and inwardly from said sheaves to points adjacent to the drum v 3| where they are suitably anchored as indicated at 35.

'Inwardly of and adjacent to the door, near the top of the doorway a, is a horizontally disposed power shaft 38 which extends parallel to the door and which has fixed thereon a cable 1 drum 3l'and loose thereon a sheave 38, while caring movement'of the door leaves. the upward swinging movement of the brace arm swinging movement of the door leaves. Consequently, continued rotation of the power shaft 36 in a direction to effect winding of the cable 40 onto the drum 31 thereof, results in unwind.- ing of said cable from the drum 32. This, in

turn. results in rotationof the drum 3| and in winding of the cables 33 onto the same, with the further result that said cables react from their anchorages 35 and pull the lever arm I! downwardly. Thisoccurs soon after the rollers 28, by cooperation with the lower portions of the cam channels 21, effect initial opening swing- Thereafter,

|8 about its pivot resulting from continued opening swinging movement of the door leaves, exerts through the cam channels 21 and the rollers 28 an upward leverage on the lower door leaf'which results in said lower leaf being lifted to fully raised position simultaneously, with initial opening swinging movement of the door leaves. I

As the cable 40 is unwound from the drum 32 it approaches the larger end of said drum with the result that progressivelyincreasing leverage is exerted on the shaft 30 to rotate the same to effect opening swinging movement of the door leaves as said leaves approach substantially horizontal position and require more power to effect their opening swinging movement.

As'the door leaves continue to'swing toward open position the brace arm l8 swings upwardly about its pivot l1 and the brace arm 20 swings one end to the drum :2 -at the larger end thereof and extends from said drum substantially. horizontally forwardly over upwardly and rearwardlyabout'its pivot l9 until ,the pivots l2,*.ll and 2| becomedisposed in a .straightline with the brace arm l8 extending upwardly from the lever arm l5. Thereafter, the

brace arm l8 swings, forwardly anddownwardly relative to the leverarm. i and the brace arm 20 swings forwardly and downwardly until said brace arms reach the' relationship shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the drawings when the door reaches. its fully open, canopy-like position. During these swinging movements the rollers 28 travel in the cam channels 21, and in this conaaeaeve f comprising a lever arm extending from said upper leaf above the pivot thereof, an upper brace arm pivoted at its upper end to said lever arm at a point above the pivot of said upper leaf, a lower brace arm having a fixed pivot at a point spaced inwardly from the pivot of said upper-leaf and nection it 'will be noted that the upper portions I 2'I of said channels are curved concentrically about thepivot I1 and are of radii and lengths such that the rollers 28 begin to cooperate there- I with as the lower'door leaf reaches fully raised i position relative to the upper door leaf and there-,-

afterv remain therein during further opening swinging movement of the door leaves to fully open, canopy-like position. Consequently, the

lower door leaf not onlyis positively held against sliding downwardly relative to the upper .door leaf duringopening and closing swinging movements of said leaves, but also is held against any oscillation vertically relative to the upper leaf during opening and closing swinging movements of the door,- it being understood, of course, that in swinging from canopy-like open position to vertical position, gravity is the propelling force and'swinging movement a; the door is under the control of the-power shaft 36:

Preferably,-but not necessarllyja second cable M is attached at one'end to the drum 3'! and.

extends from said d'um over a suitable sheave or sheaves 42 to any suitable point where itis equipped at itsother eud with a weight 43. Thus,

1 the lower leaf ll may be effectively counterweighted. The two cables 40 and 4| may be at tached to opposite ends of the drum 36 so that 40 I as one of them winds onto said drum the other unwlnds therefrom-s v .Of course, only rie or as many. asdesired of the described braces and associated operating means, whether of the form illustrated and described or of any other suitable form, may be employed in connection with any given door or door section. Moreover, it is further apparent that the-present bracing and operating means are disposed quite high so that they do not interfere with utilization of the space behind and adjacent to the door for substantially the full height thereof for storage or other purposes, and that the cam channels 21, 218 formed as illustrated and described, afford a simple yet practical and inexpensive means of insuring against accidental downward sliding movement of the lower door leafrelative to the upper door leaf during opening and closing swinging movements of the door. Without further description it is thought that the-features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of con- 'str'uction' may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the tively, relative thereto, a brace for the upper leaf at a point spaced downwardly from the pivotal connection of said upper brace arm with said lever arm. when the said upper' leaf is disposed vertically, a pivotal connection between said brace ,arms, means to insure a substantially alined relationship of said brace arms in which they extend diagonally downwardly and inwardly from said lever arm when the upper door leaf is" disposed vertically and thereby hold said upper leaf against-swinging movement, a pair of ele-v ments, one on the upper brace arm and the other on the lower leaf acting one upon the otherin' response to the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to urge said upper-brace arm upwardly about its pivotal connection with said lever arm, thereby to disaline said brace arms and to initiate opening swingingmovement of the door leaves and to permit continued'opening swingingmovement of said leaves, and means for raising'said lower leaf relative to said upper leaf and for thereafter swinging said leaves to open position, the said elements on said upper brace arm and on'said lower leaf including means whereby they become interlocked one with the-other by the final portionof raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf and thereby actto hold the-lower leaf against sliding vertically relative to the upper leaf during swinging movements of said leaves when the lower leaf is fully raised relative to the upper leaf.

2. A door comprising-an upper leaf pivoted for swinging movement between vertical and substantially horizontal closed and open positions,

respectively, a lower leaf mounted on said upper leaf for vertical sliding movement between raised and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto, a brace for the upper leaf comprising a lever arm extending from said upper leaf above 'the pivot thereof, an upper brace arm pivoted at its upper end to said lever arm at a point above the pivot of said upper leaf, a lower brace arm having a fixed pivot at a point spaced inwardly from the pivot of said upperleaf and at a point spaced downwardly from the pivotal connection of said upper brace arm with said lever armwhen-the said upper leaf is disposed vertically, a' pivotal connection between said brace arms, means to insure a substantially alined relationship of said brace arms in which they extend diagonally downwardly and inwardly from said leverarm when the upper door leaf is disposed vertically and therebyhold said upper leaf against swinging movement, cam means on the upper brace arm and cam follower means on the lower leaf cooperating in response to the final ,portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to' swing said upper brace arm upwardly about its pivotal connection with said lever arm, thereby to disaline said brace,

arms and to initiate opening swinging movement of the door leaves and to permit continued openln'g swinging movement ofsaid leaves, and means for raising said lower leaf relative to said upper leaf and for thereafter swinging said leaves to open position, the said cam means on said upper brace arm being constructed and arranged to cooperate with the said cam follower means on "said lower leaf to hold the lower leafagainst sliding vertically relative to the upper leaf during swinging movements of said leaves when the lower leaf is fully raised relative to the upper leaf.

3. A door comprising an upper leaf pivoted for swinging movement between vertical and substantially horizontal closed and open positions, respectively, a lower leaf mounted on said upper leaf for vertical sliding movement between raised and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto, a brace for the upper leaf comprising a lever arm extendingfrom said upper leaf above the pivot thereof, an upper brace arm pivoted at its upper end to said lever' arm at a point above the pivot of said upper leaf, a-

disposed vertically and thereby hold said upper leaf against swinging movement, means carried by said upper brace arm defining a cam channel the lower portion of which is inclined upwardly and outwardly when the upper leaf is disposed vertically and the upper portion of which is concentric to the pivotal connection of the upper brace arm with said lever arm, a roller on the lower leaf to enter the lower portion of said cam channel and to cooperate therewith in response sliding relative to the upper leaf, and means for raising said lower leaf relative to said upper leaf and for thereafter swinging said leaves as a unit to open, canopy-like position.

4. A door comprising an upper leaf pivoted for swinging movement between vertical and substantially horizontal closed and open positions, respectively, a lower leaf mounted on said upper leaf for vertical sliding movement between raised and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto, brace means cooperating with the upper leaf to hold the same against swinging movement when said leaf is disposed vertically, a pair of elements one on said brace meansand the other on said lower leaf acting one upon the other in response to the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to exert force on said bracing means to release same and thus permit the two leaves to be swung as a unit to open position,

said elements including means whereby they beportion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf and thereby prevent sliding movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf when the lower leaf is fully raised relative to said upper leaf, and ,means for raising said lower leaf relative to said upper leaf and for thereafter swinging said leaves as a unit to open position.

5. A door comprising an upper leaf pivoted for swinging movement between'vertical' and substantially horizontal closed and open positions,

respectively, a lower leaf mounted on said upper leaf for vertical sliding movement between raised.

and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto, brace means cooperating with the upper leaf to hold the same against swinging movement when said leaf is disposed vertically, cam and cam. follower elements on said bracing means and the lower door leaf, respectively, acting one upon the other in response to the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to exert force on said bracing means and thereby release same and to initiate swinging movement of the leaves as a unit toward open position, one of said elements including means whereby it becomes interlocked withthe other of said elements by the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf and thereby acts to hold the lower leaf against sliding movement relative to the upper leaf during allfurther opening swinging movement of the leaves, and means for raising said lower leaf relative to said upper leaf and for thereafter swinging said leaves as a unit to canopy-like open position.

6. A door comprising .an upper leaf pivoted for swinging movement between vertical and substantially horizontal closed and open positions, respectively, a lower leaf mounted on said upper leaf for vertical sliding movement between raised and lowered, open and closed positions, respectively, relative thereto, brace means'cooperatlng with the upper leaf to hold the same against swinging movement when said leaf is disposed vertically, cam and cam follower elements, one

on said bracing means and the other on said lower leaf, acting one upon the other in response to the final portion of raising movement of the lower leaf relative to the upper leaf to exert force upon said bracing means and thereby release the same and to initiate swinging movement of the leaves as a unit toward open position, one ofsaid for thereafter swinging said leaves as a unit to canopy-like open position.

ELIAS D. THOMSON. 

